The invention deals with an explosive powder charge operated setting tool having a housing with an axially displaceable barrel and closing or breech member. The barrel comprises a receptacle for a propellant charge, and the closing member contains a firing pin supported at the housing by a spring element acting in setting direction.
To reduce the recoil forces which have a deleterious effect on material stresses and the operating person, a powder charge operated setting tool is known from DE-PS 16 03 843, where a barrel and a closing member are displaceably located in a housing. Due to the displaceable arrangement of the barrel and closing member in the housing the reduction of the recoil forces is achieved but only with acceptance of other disadvantages. These other disadvantages are primarily seen in the design structure, since it is no longer possible to cock the firing pin supported in the closing or breech member in the conventional and service proved manner, pressing the setting tool against the soil. This entails that in the known solution a hammer acting upon the firing pin is arranged along an axis different from that of the firing pin, which requires the provision of a redirection or reversing lever between hammer and firing pin.
Because of these disadvantages, the solution in DE-PS 16 03 843 has not found wide acceptance, though it is advantageous avoidance of recoil forces and, in addition, provides the possibility of utilizing the displacement of the closing member initiated by the generated gas pressure for other functions, for instance, for feeding the propellant charges.